Chapter Two: It's Black!
Maka sighed, slumped over her desk once more. The party the night before ended up as a disaster that she wished that she could forget. It all started out well, but as time went on the event slowly declined into mayhem.
"We didn't even learn anything about Keikoku-san..." Maka sighed again, "Last night couldn't have gotten any worse.."
"Oh, I don't know, Maka-san. Everyone seemed to have fun." Tsubaki said with a smile, trying to cheer the scythe meister up.
"We should apologize to Keikoku-san when he gets here...Right, Soul?" Maka asked with a glare and a tone of voice that would scare small children. Her partner sat beside her, leaning back in his chair with bandages on his face. He had gotten caught up in the mayhem and came out worse for wear.
"Yeah, yeah..." He uttered, looking away from her.
The night before. During the party.
"So, Keikoku-san. How do you like Shibusen?" Maka asked him, leaning slightly on the table as she awaited a response. This was her chance to find out more about him, and the main reason she suggested a party to begin with. What better way than to make him feel comfortable and coerce the answers out of him? He glanced at her from across the table, a vacant expression played across his face. In front of him on the table was a full plate of food, he hadn't even touched what had been served to him, while the others had long consumed their portions.
"I don't know." He replied simply.
"O-oh..." Maka replied, "Well, are you a Meister or a Weapon? I have been curious about that since earlier, if you don't mind us asking." She tried again, trying to get some kind of answer out of him. This time, his gaze changed slightly as he looked back to her.
"Weapon." He answered, picking up a fork finally and poking at the long since cold food on his plate.
"Why are you acting so plain in the presence of someone as radiant as myself! Gaze at the wonder of God and become cheerful!" Black*Star yelled unexpectedly, jumping onto the table before him with a big goofy grin spread across his face.
"Black*Star! Get off my table!" Maka scolded, standing suddenly and slamming her hands on the table.
"Yahoo! I stand above all mortals!" He yelled, raising his arms above his head.
"Black*Star, get down! You're going to break it!" Soul said sternly, reaching up for the boy to pull him off of the table. However when he reached for the hyper ninja boy, his hand met with air as Black*Star stepped away to avoid his grasp, creating a chain of events that lead to disaster. As the energetic meister continually avoided capture, the attempts to remove him grew more abundant. Finally, one hand reached him. Souls.
As the weapon grasped at the boys ankle, Black*Star stepped forward to escape, but the step landed in a plate of food causing him to lose his footing and fall. As he fell, he reached out to stop his descent, and in doing so he inadvertently pulled at the tablecloth, sending the nearby plate of food flying through the air, and into Keikokus face.
"Oh no, Keikoku-san!" Tsubaki gasped, seeing what the struggle had caused. Keikoku looked stunned, as the food he had finally decided to try ended up all over him. He stood quickly, the shocked expression never left his face.
"...I need to go." He said and turned quickly, heading towards the door. Maka jumped up and tried to stop him from leaving.
"Keikoku, wait!" Maka cried out, but the boy didn't stop as the door shut and he made his escape from the chaotic apartment.
"I just hope he accepts our apologies..." Maka sighed again as she glanced at the skull shaped clock above the door. Class for the day was about to begin and most of the students had arrived, though Keikoku had not been seen in school that day. "I hope he's not mad at us.."
Marie entered the classroom with her usual cheerful smile, closing the door behind her and taking her place at the front of the class. "Good morning class! If we're all here, let's begin todays lesson!" She smiled.
"Marie-sensei!" Maka said, raising her hand, "Keikoku-san isn't here yet!"
"Don't worry. Keikoku-kun is meeting with Shinigami-sama and Spirit-san right now. He will be here shortly." She assured her students. "If that is all, let's begin!"
"With Shinigami-sama and Papa?" Maka thought to herself.
Elsewhere, in the Death Room
"Konichiwa! Hello, Keikoku-kun!" Shinigami greeted the teen with a wave of his large white hand. Keikoku walked through the large guillotine shaped archways into the Death Room, Shinigamis personal office and the heart of Shibusen. He had been here once before, two days prior, however this time he had been called in to meet with Shibusens leader. "How are you adapting to life here, Keikoku-kun?" The large death god asked the azure teen, "Are you getting along well with the other students?"
Keikoku stared at the death god with a look of irritation, "Shinigami-sama..."
"Oi?" He said, turning his head to the side questioning.
"I know this is not why you called me here." Keikoku said sternly, glaring at the death god. Since he was invited to Shibusen he had been waiting for them to ask. "You wish to know the truth about my origins, correct?" He asked.
"Well, since you already know the reason, why don't you start explaining yourself." Spirit spoke, stepping forward from the death gods side and before the younger teen. "Such as your involvement with the witch, Medusa."
As if by instinct, Spirit stepped back, just barely being struck by an unseen force. His eyes were taken off the boy momentarily, unsure of what had just occurred. Then he felt it, darkness, anger, hatred, the boy was seeping with it. Keikoku glared at him, his eyes alight with rage.
"Don't ever speak that name!" Keikoku spat, turning and walking away from the two men, glancing back over his right shoulder, "I will kill that woman." He added finally before leaving the room.
"Oi oi...It seems we pushed him too far.." Shinigami sighed, "Spirit-kun...That reminds me. Has there been any word on Medusa or the missing Chrona-chan?" Shinigami asked his right hand death scythe. Spirit turned away, shaking his head.
"Not even a clue to go off of. Medusa has covered her trail this time, and Chrona disappeared without a trace." Spirit explained.
"Hmm...And what about Noah?"
"Eruka. Free." A hooded figure spoke through the darkness, sinister golden eyes peered through the shadows to the two figures that stood before her. "The time to act is now. With that foolish Shinigami keeping an eye on that man, we are free to strike without being detected."
"Medusa, what about that scythe girl? Didn't you say she was dangerous?" Eruka stated, the sound of worry echoing on her words.
"That is precisely why we must strike now. The girl must be killed, before she becomes a bigger threat than we can handle." Medusa told her as she hovered above the ground, her body being held up by her arrow shaped snake tail. "Don't worry, you will merely be...insurance. She will do the deed." Medusa chuckled evilly, glaring at the corner, seeing a thin, pale, lavender haired girl standing silently.
"It's time, Chrona."
As the day went on, Maka and the others waited for Keikoku to return to class, their chance to apologize slowly slipping away. Eventually classes had ended for the day and the sun began to descend to allow night to rise.
"Maka, I don't think hes coming..." Soul told her, looking around the empty hallways, they had waited to see if he would pass by, but before long all students had left and they were the only people still there.
"Hold on...maybe I can find his wavelength?" Maka suggested, closing her eyes and focusing. There were a lot of people in Death City, and that made it harder to sift through them all to find one person. She remembered his unusual wavelength, and suddenly she opened her eyes. "I've found him!" She exclaimed, rushing down one of the halls, Soul, Black*Star and Tsubaki following suit. As they made their way through the school, Maka recognized where they were heading towards, it was the ballroom. They turned the last corner and ended up in the ballroom, the entire rooms lights were off and the air was brisk, a breeze blowing through the door to the balcony into the hall. The group remained quiet, slowly shuffling towards the open balcony. Peeking around the corner, they could see a shadowed figure leaning over the railing of the balcony, one hand was visible with what looked like bandages hanging from it.
"Who is it?" Tsubaki whispered to the others, trying to see over their heads. Black*Star leaned further around the door frame, trying to get a better look at the silhouette. He leaned too far, and in doing so fell over and caused a crashing noise as the others were dragged down with him. The silhouette turned quickly, looking towards the loud noise, a golden eye peered through the darkness at them. Quickly the figure turned away, its hands moving around its face. When the group managed to get back on their feet, Maka had an idea of who it was, the soul wavelength didn't lie.
"Keikoku-san?" She called out. "What was that just now...?" She thought to herself.
"What are you doing here?" He called back, leaning over the railing again, his face bandaged once more. He had wanted to be alone, but now that had been ruined by their appearance.
"We just wanted to apologize for last night..." Tsubaki began to explain, but Keikoku interrupted before she could continue.
"Don't." He said bluntly, turning back to them again. "I understand your intention, but you shouldn't try to get too close to me. I'm better off alone."
"And what is that supposed to mean?!" Maka spoke up, standing in front of the rest. She had been trying all this time to try and learn more about him, trying to make friends with him, and suddenly he tells them he was better off alone?! "C'mon guys. Let's leave." She said angrily, huffing and stomping her way out of the ballroom, Soul and Black*Star following quietly behind her.
"But Maka-san.." Tsubaki pleaded before giving up and jogging to catch up. Keikoku stood alone on the empty balcony looking out over Death City. This was fine, this is how he had lived up until now, alone and trusting none but himself. So why was it that when he saw the others, he felt like he was missing out on something important. He shook his head in disapproval, how could that be possible, someone like him didn't need those thoughts. He would have stayed right there until he got tired and went home, if it wasn't for one thing. An explosion.
His head jerked to the side as he quickly looked in the direction of the blast, seeing smoke and fire rising into the sky above the city. Something bad was happening, and he had a horrid feeling of familiarity. Suddenly, his right eye began to emit a sharp pain, and it hit him. She was near.
The explosion rocked the entire school, and sent Maka and her friends tumbling to the floor. "What was that?!" Soul asked in a panic. "An explosion?!"
"No..." Maka uttered softly. She could feel them, nine soul wavelengths, all of them familiar, and all of them filled her with anger and despair. "Medusa!" She said angrily, jumping to her feet and bracing herself against the wall with her hand. "Medusa is nearby and so is..." She began to say, when she realized who one of the other wavelengths belonged to, "..Chrona." She gasped. That was impossible! No way Chrona would have gone back to Medusa! Maybe she had been trying to escape and Medusa followed her back to Shibusen! That had to have been it! "Soul!" She cried, reaching out for her partner, who replied with a nod and transformed into his scythe form. Grasping the shaft of her weapon, she looked to the nearest window, finding that it was big enough to leave through.
"Tsubaki, Black*Star! We're going ahead!" She called back to their companions, "Soul, let's do it!"
"Right!" He answered, transforming once more, his blade shortening and wings sprouting from the end of the handle. Since he had become a death scythe they had been training on this form, though they had only used it once in combat. The two flew through the skies above Shibusen in the direction of the attacks, looking desperately for a sign of Chrona. Maka could feel her close by, but for some reason she couldn't tell where, it was as if something was clouding her senses. It came as a surprise to her when she was abruptly attacked from above. A blast of energy came soaring through the air, striking her in the side and nearly knocking her off the flying scythe, though her balance was upset and she was forced to make a rapid landing. They reached the ground safely, Soul deforming the wings and regrowing his blade upon touchdown.
The duo looked to the sky, but they couldn't find their attacker above them. Soul looked around them, and just barely saw the next attack coming. "Maka! Behind us!" He warned her, the meister hearing his words and bringing up the weapon to block the attack. A sword met with the scythes blade, but when Maka got a good look at it, her face ran pale and she felt sick to her stomach. It was black. It was Ragnarok.
"Chrona!" She chirped, looking into the face of her dear friend. "Chrona! It's me! Maka!" She assumed that Chrona had attacked, not realizing who it was. "Where have you been?"
Her question was not met with words, but with the sword being withdrawn from the scythes blade. "M-maka..." The lavender haired girl spoke softly. "I need..."
"What is it, Chrona?" Maka asked, she was worried about her friend. God knew what the girl must have been through while she was missing. "What do you need?"
"I need....you to die." The girl grinned maniacally, her eyes reflected evil, a sight that would make most peoples skin crawl. She brought her empty hand around, striking the defenseless blonde across the face and sending her sprawling on the ground.
"Ch...rona..?" Maka barely could utter, the wind knocked out of her and the sudden blow from her friend left her speechless. Soul immediately reversed his transformation, standing between Chrona and Maka.
"Maka, somethings not right...Shes acting different..." Soul growled, standing firm to keep his meister from harm. The girl managed to get back to her feet, coughing a bit at first but regaining her composure.
"Chrona, what happened to you?! Chrona!" Maka pleaded, her words falling on maddened ears, the sword bearer was not budging. "I get it...If I have to, I will change you back myself! I want the normal Chrona back!" She yelled, "Soul!"
The scythe transformed once again, Maka reaching out to grasp him to fight. Nothing. Her hand reached for air as the scythe boy was knocked away from her by her sword wielding adversary. Her eyes widened, looking back to the girl as she saw the blade coming back down to strike her down. It all seemed to move in slow motion, she closed her eyes so that she wouldn't see anymore and waited for the pain.
Clang! The sound of metal striking metal, and the feeling of falling and hitting the ground. Maka opened her eyes once more and looked up, seeing a male figure standing above her. She could see Ragnaroks blade sticking over his shoulder. The moon shined through a cloud and she could see who it was that had protected her.
"Keikoku!"
She felt something drip on her leg, and touched it with her gloved hand. Lifting it to her eyes she got a good look at the liquid that had fallen on her. It was black.
"Are you alright?" He asked her, keeping his eyes on Chrona. Using his left hand he grasped a hold of Ragnaroks blade, holding firm so that she couldn't pull away.
"W-who are you?!" Chrona asked, her eyes showing fear at the sudden arrival, and his shocking behavior.
"Keikoku...you.." Maka gasped, seeing the blood dripping from his hand and shoulder. That was the liquid. Black Blood!
"Hey, girl. Did you know? My blood...its black!" He grinned, raising his free hand above his head, the appendage transforming into a sword.